The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) grilled US officials on what the committee believed was persistent racial discrimination in the US. The Committee cited patterns in jobs, housing, education and the criminal justice system to raise questions about the US commitment to ending racial discrimination. There is no doubt that recent high profile events in the US, such as the killing of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, and Michael Brown increased the urgency of the questioning.
The protests in Pakistan led by Imran Khan and anti-government cleric Tahirul Qadri have erupted violently as the protesters marched on the Prime Minister’s house. The protesters argue that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif won the 2013 election through massive fraud, an allegation not supported by the international observers present at the election. The political dispute is incredibly complicated, and involves allegations concerning the role of the media and the military in Pakistani politics. Initially, it did not appear as if the protests were gaining much traction, but the situation is now much more fluid.
The European Union has given Russia one week to scale back its operations in Ukraine or face further sanctions. The rhetoric over the conflict in Ukraine has become significantly more heated over the last week as evidence of direct Russian intervention has accumulated. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s statement after the EU announcement was particularly pointed:
“We are very close to the point of no return, the point of no return is full-scale war, which is already happening in the territories controlled by the separatists….Today we are talking about the fate of Ukraine, tomorrow it could be for all Europe.”
The language matches the language used by Russian President Putin when he spoke to a youth camp yesterday:
“Russia’s partners … should understand it’s best not to mess with us. Thank God, I think no one is thinking of unleashing a large-scale conflict with Russia. I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers.”
It is often difficult to sort out the rhetoric in a crisis situation, but we should all hope that both Presidents are engaging in political hyperbole.
World Politics News 
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